The Securities Litigation Expert Blog

I am pleased to announce the publishing of a new e-book focused on the municipal bond market and MSRB Rules.  

Abandoned Packard factory in Detroit.

The book covers many topics, including:

• The continued deterioration of municipal fundamentals;
• The municipal bond rating whipsaw since 2007;
• Background on the MSRB;
• Anti-fraud and fair dealing rules;
• Suitability rules;
• Due diligence requirements;
• Disclosure obligations;
• Affirmative discosure requirements;
• Informed consent, and;
• Supervision.

The book is available for download on Amazon's Kindle for $9.99, or you can download the PDF by clicking on the link below.

To learn more about author Jack Duval, click here.

Finra has issued NTM 13-02 requesting comment on proposed rules to disclose compensation for brokers switching firms.  (NTM 13-02)

Here's the executive summary:

Many member firms offer significant financial incentives to recruit registered representatives to join their firms, yet these compensation arrangements are not disclosed to customers when they are asked to transfer their accounts
to a representative’s new firm. To address conflicts of interest relating to recruitment compensation practices, FINRA seeks comment on a proposed rule that would require specific disclosure by the recruiting member firm of the financial incentives a representative receives as part of his or her relationship with the new firm. The recruiting member firm would be required to provide the disclosure before a former retail customer of the representative makes a final determination to transfer an account to the new firm.

Finra is looking into conflicts of interest of brokerages and their Registered Representatives, Reuters reports.  (Reuters)  These concerns were raised by Finra VP Susan Axelrod in October, at an industry conference.

Among the concerns, Axelrod said in October, are that brokers who receive large financial incentives to move to a different firm may promise their clients new and better securities products for bringing their assets to the new firm.  Those products may be no better, or even worse, than what the client already owns, but the broker earns a commission on the sale.  FINRA's proposal would apply to clients who transfer their accounts to a brokerage in order to stay with an adviser who is switching firms. Brokerages would have to tell those clients about compensation used to entice the broker's move.